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St. James Family #1
Mistress of the Night
Daring, rebellious, she longed to be a lady, even as she ached for a dangerous love...
Born in an English bawdy house, schooled in the cunning and thievery of the streets, barely escaped from the hangman's noose, exquisite Viveca Lindstrom would be transformed from a wild urchin into an elegant lady.
She would return from the Turkish court to marry a handsome young aristocrat, to build a stable of champion Thoroughbreds. Yet even as her newly acquired polish conquered the peerage, it was the love of Byrne St. James, the darling dark-eyed highwayman, that haunted and held her, taunting her with the promise of madcap adventure, untamed freedom, and wild, rapturous desire.
Born in an English bawdy house, schooled in the cunning and thievery of the streets, barely escaped from the hangman's noose, exquisite Viveca Lindstrom would be transformed from a wild urchin into an elegant lady.
She would return from the Turkish court to marry a handsome young aristocrat, to build a stable of champion Thoroughbreds. Yet even as her newly acquired polish conquered the peerage, it was the love of Byrne St. James, the darling dark-eyed highwayman, that haunted and held her, taunting her with the promise of madcap adventure, untamed freedom, and wild, rapturous desire.
303 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1985
About the author
Valerie Vayle
5 books13 followersA pseudonym used by Jean Brooks-Janowiak and Janice Young Brooks writing together. It was later used exclusively by Jean Brooks-Janowiak after obtaining the legal rights to the name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2016
Whoa. Wow. What a story. This is NOT a fluffy romance but it is soooooooo good.
MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT refers to the flower, the tuberose, which represents pleasures of the flesh. Taking place in the mid-1700's, Ginny Lindstrom lost her husband when the English invaded her Scottish homeland. Three months pregnant, she managed to travel to her deceased brother-in-law's wife's place of business. It turned out to be a house of ill repute. Here Ginny found work cooking and cleaning until she was able to have her daughter, Viveca. Young and fair-looking, this mother soon caught the eye of a handsome nobleman and became his mistress. Before long, she had a daughter by him, too.
Though as important as Ginny's story is, this historical romance is actually Viveca's tale. Without giving too much away, I will let you know that this is a 'workhouse of a story'. Bits of actual history are weaved between the fictitious characters. Not for the feint-of-heart, it is both gritty and rich. And it contains enough plot twists to make the actual romance refreshing.
If you enjoy historical romances I would encourage you to find this book. The cover may make you think it is a bodice-ripper but it is not. First published in 1985, I never felt the material was dated. This is an awesome story. It is also the first of two stories about the St. James family and one of their descendants. NIGHTFIRE is the sequel. Look for it!
MISTRESS OF THE NIGHT refers to the flower, the tuberose, which represents pleasures of the flesh. Taking place in the mid-1700's, Ginny Lindstrom lost her husband when the English invaded her Scottish homeland. Three months pregnant, she managed to travel to her deceased brother-in-law's wife's place of business. It turned out to be a house of ill repute. Here Ginny found work cooking and cleaning until she was able to have her daughter, Viveca. Young and fair-looking, this mother soon caught the eye of a handsome nobleman and became his mistress. Before long, she had a daughter by him, too.
Though as important as Ginny's story is, this historical romance is actually Viveca's tale. Without giving too much away, I will let you know that this is a 'workhouse of a story'. Bits of actual history are weaved between the fictitious characters. Not for the feint-of-heart, it is both gritty and rich. And it contains enough plot twists to make the actual romance refreshing.
If you enjoy historical romances I would encourage you to find this book. The cover may make you think it is a bodice-ripper but it is not. First published in 1985, I never felt the material was dated. This is an awesome story. It is also the first of two stories about the St. James family and one of their descendants. NIGHTFIRE is the sequel. Look for it!
May 17, 2016
DNF, pg 60-some.
Eh, there's nothing terribly wrong with this one, per se. I just don't GAF about the characters or the story, & I don't like the writing style either. It's hard to make me care about smuggling and/or highwaymen romances to begin with, so combined with lackluster characters & a herky-jerky rushed vignette style...not my thing.
These sorts of blandly ambivalent, not-quite-boring-enough-to-abandon reads are what drive completionist folks nuts -- hence, precisely what I'm urging myself to DNF in the 50-pg timeframe. So there you go. :P
Eh, there's nothing terribly wrong with this one, per se. I just don't GAF about the characters or the story, & I don't like the writing style either. It's hard to make me care about smuggling and/or highwaymen romances to begin with, so combined with lackluster characters & a herky-jerky rushed vignette style...not my thing.
These sorts of blandly ambivalent, not-quite-boring-enough-to-abandon reads are what drive completionist folks nuts -- hence, precisely what I'm urging myself to DNF in the 50-pg timeframe. So there you go. :P
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews